URIteacherknowledge - Lesson 1 from Soup to Cells

Lesson Title: Lesson 1: From soup to cells the origin of life

State Standards:

Life on earth is thought to have begun as simple, one-celled organisms about four billion years ago. Once cells with nuclei developed about a billion years ago, increasingly complex multi-cellular organisms evolved. 5F/H8

Context of Lesson:

Class time: 1 class period, 47 min (extended to two class periods, if necessary)
Classroom: Biology Lab

This activity is a prelude to the study of evolution; students will investigate a series of readings that cumulatively describe a scenario which ventures to explain the origin of life from a primordial sea (soup) to the eventual development of the first cells
There are eight short readings (one page or less) each of which will be assigned to one of eight groups chosen by random selection
The readings have been handed out prior to the lesson & the students are instructed to read the information prior to class. There are 27 students in the class and there are four copies of each reading, which have been shuffled and distributed to the class so that at least three students have the same reading.
The readings come from the University of California, Berkeley education website and the URL is printed on each informational sheet. Students may visit the site for further reading. The pages are accessable in the link provided. http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/print/printable_template.php?article_id=origsoflife_01&context=0_0_0
The students will read the informational sheet; meet with others who have the same reading to construct a summary of their readings and present to the class at large.

Materials:

Informational handouts
Overhead transparencies
Dry erase markers
Overhead projector
photocopies of class notes

Objectives:

The students will demonstrate an understanding of the origin of life on earth by collaborating to summarize the information from selected readings and presenting their findings to the class.

Instruction:
Opening:

Class time	Activity	Description
5 min	Settle in	Meet and greet students at the door of the classroom Take role Assume a position in front of the class and ask for attention as we begin
5 min	Opening question	The exercise will begin by my asking the question: Have you ever wondered when life began on earth? As I walk around the room, we will begin a short discussion of what students already know about how life first began and what the conditions may have been like on earth at the time of life's origination. This exercise should demonstrate current understandings and misconceptions of the class at large and stimulate thinking

Engagement:

Class time	Activity	Description
15 min	group sharing	students will be given a couple of minutes to find others who have been assigned the same readings and join together in groups of three or four. (groupings are based on prior random assortment) As the students gather, I will circulate throughout the room, visit each group and give them an overhead transparency and a dry erase marker. When the groups are in place and they have their respective materials, I will instruct them to share their findings and write a collective summary (on the transparencies) of the information they found in their readings. the topics are as follows: From soup to cells - the origin of life When did life originate? Where did life originate? How did life originate? Studying the origin of life. Origins and biochemical evidence. Origins and experimental evidence. A knotty problem. When the students are in group, I will circulate and revisit each group in an effort to keep them on task and resolve any questions that might come forth. (There may arise a need to extend this portion of the lesson.)
20 min or longer	Presentation of findings	Each group will be given an opportunity to present their summaries to the class, using the transparencies that they created and the overhead projector. The class will listen to each presentation and will be encouraged to ask questions thereby stimulating discussion I will position in the back of the class and direct each ensuing discussion by asking questions of my own in order to ensure that the key points of each topic have been addressed by the class. I will also add to the discussion by clearing up any misconceptions that may arise during the course of conversation.

Closure:

Class time	Activity	Description
15 min	Review of readings	When each group has completed their presentations, I will collect their transparencies and conduct a review of all of the readings in an effort to tie them all together into a cohesive unit that provides the students with an understanding of how life on earth may have originated. We will (as a class) once more quickly review what they have learned; this time however, I will present while students listen and ask any further questions that they may still have. Upon completion of the lesson, I will photocopy each of the group made summaries and colate them into a review packet for each student in the class. This should serve as reference material and a study guide for the end of unit test.

Assessment: The assessment for this activity is formative in that the opening discussion and ensuing presentations and conversation should expose misconceptions and reveal understanding of how life may have originated on earth. Material presented in this lesson will be assessed as part of the unit test, which will be given at the end of the unit.